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People: Astrobiology Graduate Students
Jeff Bowman
Oceanography
I joined the Astrobiology and Oceanography graduate programs after
earning my undergraduate degree from the University of Washington's
School of Oceanography. While an undergraduate I had the opportunity
to study the organisms which inhabit environments of high salinity.
These organisms are of great interest to Astrobiologists, as
potential hypersaline habitats exist on Mars and elsewhere within our
solar system.
Sampling sea ice in the Arctic Basin.
My current research focuses on the survival mechanisms
of bacteria and other microorganisms in very cold and very salty
environments, particularly sea ice. As sea ice forms, the unfrozen
portions of the ice become increasingly salty (and very cold, as an
increase in salinity depresses the freezing point of water). This
presents a challenging environment for single celled life, and an
excellent place to study how organisms might survive and thrive in
extraterrestrial environments.
Jeff and DTU graduate student Matthias Wietz at the North Pole.
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